Excavating-machine



H, A POWERS.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. 1920.

3, S.HEETSSHEET 1.

H. A. POWERS.

EXCAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, 1920.

u H 1 2 .mm a 92 W, M H W R E a BB4 Jo 0 tr... I M; 3

H. A. POWERS.

EXCAVATlNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, I920.

1,394,350. Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

HINEB A. rownas, or many, oxmmomn,

iixcavnrntd-naonmn.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Hmns A. Powers, a

I citizen of the United States, residing at ence to improvements in road scrapers of the type designed for use in conjunction with tractors, 1n which connection attention is directed to my prior patent Number 1,319,615, upon road scraping machinery, filed August 21, 1918, and patented October 21, 1919, upon .which machine the present invention is-an improvement.

The. principal objects of the present invention are; to construct a road scraper wherein the operating mechanism for the shovel will also serve to maintain the shovel in any desired position; to provide means for effectively scraping a road, carrying the surplus surface dirt to a dumping point and discharging the same from the shovel; and to provlde simple means for controlling and cushioning the movement of the shovel into a discharging position and assisting in returning the same to a scraping position.

Furthermore, it is an equally important object of the present invention to eliminate the multiplicity of operating parts and the clutch elements described in my prior patent Number 1,319,615 of October 21, 1919, before referred to, so as to prevent an operator from becoming so confused .as to incorrectly manipulate the machine and cause disarranging or breaking of the parts.

For the purpose of illustrating this invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawlngs one form thereof which is at present preferred, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the Specification or batters Patent.

forwardly Patented Oct. 18', 1921.

Application filed February 9, 1920. Serial No. 357,152.

'Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the lnvention showing the shovel in a scraping posltion.

Fig. 3 1s a top plan view of the road scraper.

Fig. 4. 1s a sectional transverse view taken from the rear of the scraper and looking thereof. 1

Fig. 5 1s a detailed view of the andclutch element.

Flg. 6 is a detail view of the cog wheel and Worm gear used in rotating the drum which forms a part of the actuating mechanism of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a detail of the switch for the shovel.

drive gears Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but with the switch in a different position.

F1g. 9 1s a wow of the switching mechamsm disassembled, and

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view of the 1 designates the substantially rectangular frame of a road scraper which has side beams 2 and end beams 3, the rear end beam of which is preferably formed of angle'steel. Pivoted as at 3 to the central portion of the forward end 3 is an axle 3 carrying at its ends bearing collars 4 within which are received the spindles 5 of forked bearing brackets 6 in which are mounted suitable wheels 7. Attached to the corners of the rear end of the frame and braced by the angle iron and beam are downwardly and rearwardly bent brackets 8 for attachment to the forward end of a tractor (not shown).

Extending upwardly and inclined toward the center from opposite ends and secured to the side beams of the frame are supports 9 and 10 which meet over the central portion of the frame to carry a drum which will be hereinafter. described. Branching from a point adjacent the upper end of the supports 9 are intermediate supports 11 which are also securedto the side beams 2 of the frame.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2 the supports 10' extend rearwardly, downwardly and forwardly as at 11' and 12 and are slotted throughout as at 13; suitable brackets 14 being secu'redto the side beams 2 of the frame 1 and to the ends 12 to hold the same in position. w

Se u ed to the side beams 2 of the frame and to the intermediate supports 11 are plates 15 having upwardly-and rearwardly inclined slots 16 and forwardly and downwardly curved slots 17; the intersection of the slots 16 and 17 being closed by switch elements generally designated by 18. Suitable guard and retaining members 19 are provided and riveted on the plates ,to prevent possible breaking of the same.

The. shovel A which in the present instance is substantially rectilinear in form, has side walls 20 and a rear end wall 21. Journaled in the side walls 20 and adjacent the rear end wall 21 is a rod 22 carrying exteriorly of the shovel A rollers 23 which areflanged and travel in the slots 13 in the supports 10. A pair ofbracke'ts 24 on the forward portion of the side walls 20 carry a second rod 25 upon the exterior ends ofwhich are mounted flanged rollers 26 which travel in the slots 16 and 17 in the plates 15, and as shown in Fig. 2, when the rollers 23 and 26 are at the lower terminals of their respective slots 13 and 16 the shovel is in a scraping position. (See Fig. 2.) vFurthermore as the plates 15 are disposed in a plane above the portions 11 and 12 of the supports 10 when the rollers 23 and 26 of the shovel have traveled rearwardly. to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the front of the shovel is higher than the rear thus preventing displacement of the load; and when the rollers 23 have traveled to the upper terminals of the slots 13 and' the rollers 26 to the lower terminals ofthe slots 17 the shovel is in a discharging position as illustrated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1. The method of moving the shovel to the positions described will be hereinafter set forth in detail.

Secured to the meeting terminals of the supports 9 and 10 are bearing plates 27 having cover plates 28 between which are "journaled the ends of a shaft 29 carrying a drum 30. Upon one end of the shaft 29 (preferably the left end looking forward of the frame) is keyed a cog wheel 31 inclosed within a two part housing 32 and meshing with a worm gear 33 on a shaft 34 formed in sections connected by knuckle joints 34 and extending to a point adjacent the tractor (not shown) where there is fixed thereto a bevel gear 35.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, a drive shaft 37 of a tractor, sometimes termed a pulley shaft, has keyed thereto as at 38 sliding movementon the shaft 37 are op-.

posed beveled transmission gears X and Y which are always in mesh with the beveled ear 35 onthe shaft 34 and have recesses for enga ement with the teeth 39 and 40 of thee utchelements 39 and 40. Inclosing the transmission gears, clutch elements and bevel gear 35' is a two part housing Z which is slidably mounted on the shaft 37 and has journaled therethrough as at 34, the shaft 34, so that movement of the housing on the shaft 37 will throw the transmission gears into engagement with the teeth of one or the other of the clutch elements. A suitable bell crank operating lever L is mounted onthe tractor and engages the housing to move the same to transmit power from the shaft 37 to the shaft 34 in the manner described. y

In order tolower or elevate the shovel a pair of cables 42 carried by the drum 30 have their ends secured to levers 43 on the rod 22 and are trained about a plurality of guide pulleys 44 one of each of which is mounted upon the supports 10 adjacent the points of bend in the slots 13 so that upon,

i As the shovel travels upwardly and rear- I wardly in the portions 12 of the supports 10 the forward end thereof follows the slots 16 to their points of entrance into the slots 17, and at this point the switch elements 18 areprovided for an obvious purpose. These switch elements 18 constitute frogs 45 (see Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 pivoted as at 46 to the plates 15 and which when in the position shown in Figs. 7 guide the rollers 26 to the slots 17 and when in the position shown in Fig. 8 permit their return to the slots 16; notches 47 being provided to receive the frogs 45 when in the last named position. In order to throw the frogs 45, bell crank levers 48 are pivoted to the plates 15 adjacent the frogs, the arms of which extend alternately in the slots 16 and 17 as'illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. Connecting the levers 48 with the frogs 45 in the manner shown are springs 49 so that when the rollers 26 contact with the arms of the levers 48 the frogs are thrown to switch the same either to the slots 16 or 17. In order to hold the levers 48 in position lugs 50 are struck outwardly in the arms to enga e in slots 51 provided therefor in the p ates 15 (see Fig. 10). i

. s the rear end of. the sho el is drawn above construction and upwardly to its last stage (last 8 or 10 feet a of movement of the rollers 23 in slots 13) that as the rollers pass down to the slots 17 the rod will be engaged in the hooked terminal 53 and will assist in returning the shovel to the point of entrance of the slots 17 with slots 16 after the load is dumped (See Fig. l)

ln operation the shovel A. is normally in the position shown in Fig. 2, or in position for scraping a road, but when the shovel becomes full the clutch 39 is thrown in by moving the operating lever B to rotate the drum thus drawing up the rear of the shovel (the front following as will be understood) to dispose it in a carrying position (see 1), whereupon it moves forwardly and the :t'ront gradually moves down the slots 1'2. Such downward movement being completed as the rear end. completes its last stage-ct elevation, or as the rollers 23 rise the last 8 or 10 feet in slots 13, the load will be quickly discharged and the clutch havingbeen thrown out, the shovel is assisted in its return to the point of entrance of slots 17 to slots 16 by the spring frame 52, whereupon the clutch is thrown out and the shovel falls to its original position; it being understood that the switch functions in the manner previously described.

Furthermore when the shovel is used excavating, as distinguished from road scraping, the forward movement of the 1"*rame causes the shovel to dig into the earth and also causes it to move backwardly into the position shown in solid lines in Figi whereupon the clutch is thrown in remove the same to its dumping position.

As many changes could be made in the many apparently widely difierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matters contained in the above description or shown. in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, asa mat ter of language, might be' said to fall therebetween.

What I claim is: v

1. In a, machine of the class described, a supporting structure, a shovel mounted for bodily and tilting movement in said structure, a rotary drum mounted in said structure, a cable wound on said drum and connected to said shovel, said cable being of a length andso wound on the drum as to permit it to be" paid off on one side to provide for the raising of the shovel to dumping position and on reversing of the drum to be paid off on the other side to permit return of the shovel to loading position wher by the shovel may be held in any desired position.

2. In a machine of the class describeoh-a supporting structure, a shovel mounted for bodily and tilting movement in said structue, a rotary drum mounted in said structure, means for reversing the direction of rotation of said drum, cables wound ways on said drum, one payin oil on one side as the other winds up on the other side whereby the shovel may be maintained in any desired position.

3. In a machine of the class described, supporting structure, a shovel mounted to slide and tilt therein, a rotary drum mounted in said structure, front and rear traclc ways carried by said structure, rollers on the shovel mounted to travel in said tracls' ways, said rear trackways having bends therein, a cable wound intermediate its ends around said "drum and connected at its ends to the rear portion of said shovel, guide rollers on said rear trackway at the bends shovel, rollers carried by the shovel travelmg in the slots in the rear supports and plates for guiding the shovel, a drum carried by the supports, cables carried by the eratively connected with the drum, means ope'ratively connecting the shaft with a drive element on a tractoror other power plant, a gear carried on the shaft, slidable opposed gears on the drive element continuously engaging the gear on the shaft, and fixed clutch elements engaging the opposed gears upon sliding the same whereby to regulate the transmission of power from the drive element to the drum, and for varying the direction of rotation of the drum.

In testimony whereof, -I afiix my signature hereto.

ems- A. PowERs.

drum and engaging the shovel, a shaft op- 

